HIST351: Islam, The Middle East, and The West

Unit 8: European Challenges and the Ottoman EmpireBy the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was in decline. The
Ottomans, their imperial holdings much reduced since their heyday in the
sixteenth century, became increasingly dependent on European resources
to buoy their empire. Beginning in the late 1800s, Ottoman leaders
embarked upon a policy of reform that they believed would modernize
their state by implementing constitutional government, educational
systems, new technology, and new industry with European monies. As a
result of this financial dependence, many European powers began to
dominate or annex Ottoman holdings in the Middle East in the 1800s.
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Ottomans allied themselves
with the Central Powers—Austria-Hungary and Germany—but were defeated by
the Allied forces in 1918.
In this unit, we will study the reasons for the decline of the Ottoman
Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. We will also examine
how and why European nations challenged Ottoman authority and began to
exert power in the Middle East.

Unit 8 Time Advisory
This unit will take you approximately 4 hours to complete.

☐ Introduction: 2 hours

☐ Subunit 8.1: 2 hours

Unit8 Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

Analyze the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of
European imperialism in/domination of the Middle East in the 1800s.

Differentiate between French, British, and Russian modes of
colonizing the Middle East during the “Long Nineteenth Century.”

Also available in:
[iBook](http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-8.1-Ottoman-Empire-Wikipedia.epub)
Instructions: Please read the entirety of this entry in order to
get a sense of the Ottoman Empire. This link covers subpoints 8.1.1
and 8.1.2.
Terms of Use: The Wikipedia article above is released under a
[Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License
3.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) (HTML). You
can find the original version of this article
[here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire#Stagnation_and_reform.281683.E2.80.931827.29)
(HTML).

8.1.1 “Sick Man of Europe”8.1.2 Financial Control by European Powers8.2 European Dominion of the Ottoman Empire
- Web Media: NPR: Mike Schuster’s “The Middle East and the West:
Carving Up the Region”
Link: NPR: Mike Schuster’s: “The Middle East and the West: Carving
up the
Region”
(Adobe Flash Audio)

Instructions: Please listen to this 10-minute program, which
explores the expansion of European dominance in the Middle East
during the 19th century. Please click on the link above
and, when the page loads, click on “Listen” to stream the program.
This program addresses subsection 8.2.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

8.2.1 French Annexation of Algeria and Tunisia8.2.2 British Occupation of Egypt8.2.3 British Control of Persian Gulf8.2.4 French Influence in Lebanon and Syria8.2.5 Italy in Libya and the Dodecanese Islands8.3 Reforms in the Middle East8.3.1 The Young Turks
- Reading: Wikipedia: “Young Turks”
Link: Wikipedia: “Young
Turks”
(PDF)

Instructions: Please read the entirety of this entry in order to
get a better understanding of the Young Turks.